I’ve been having a heck of a time with fatigue and migraines, so this little gem was met with much joy! I’ve used it a few times already today, I can’t say for sure how much it has helped yet because I used it in conjunction with other medications, but I can say that my migraine did get better! Yay!! There’s a lot of drawbacks about this little thing, like how long it took to get it here, it isn’t rechargeable so you have to get a new one every month, (that’s a lot of garbage!) and it stops working in a month even if you haven’t used it hardly at all. They really have a racket going on here….but if it works, how I can not use it? I’ll do an update on it soon!!

There are a few more things I’m thankful for this week:

the kindness of friends (and some strangers).

not having to go to work every day, because I wouldn’t have been able to lately. (never thought I’d be thankful I’m disabled…I’m just differently abled)

we’re looking for a house, this is not a fun experience, but I’m so grateful we are able to buy our own home and hopefully soon we will find the perfect place for our family.

we were able to babysit last week and we didn’t die, nor kill anyone. hahaha

my niece is reading a book and telling me all about it. (she literally just texted me before she went to bed. She’s 10)

I didn’t throw up in public. Okay that sounds strange but we were out on Sunday and I took a swallow of water while we were walking and suddenly I got choked. I coughed and gagged and water spewed out of my mouth and nose, I was so embarrassed, but I didn’t throw up, that was a victory!!

we have A/C. We live in Tucson, AZ; if I didn’t have A/C I would die. That’s not an exaggeration.

I’m not homeless. There is a huge homeless population here, it really makes me realize how very lucky I am. (and it annoys the heck out of me that so many people here assume that all homeless are addicts! Really? Wake up people! It can happen to anyone!)

I was able to get a topical ointment for pain from the medical marijuana dispensary today. It is all CBD, so anyone could buy it, but I like getting it from the dispensary because they independently test everything so I know it has what is says it does in it, and the girl that I talked with there today was so knowledgeable! I’m learning so much. I’m hoping the ointment will help me sleep tonight, my wrist/thumb have been keeping me up at night. (Don’t worry dear friends, it’s healing nicely, it just takes time). I also got some gummies to help me sleep, they do have THC in them so unless you are in a legal state you couldn’t get them. I’m very grateful I live in a legal state.

That’s all for now. I have been writing a post on my experiencesgetting my medicinal card and my first trip to the dispensary. I’m sorry it is taking me so long, recovery has been easier than I expected, but it has made me very tired; it is a struggle to get things done and sometimes the pain won’t allow me to type long.

Thank you all for hanging in there with me. I’m very thankful for you.

They were able to give me an IV with just one stick. The nurse said I have very challenging veins, but she did a great job! The orders called for 2 IV’s one in each arm, but she said I was suck a hard stick, if they needed another IV going, they could do it after I was out. I just loved her!

Everyone who took care of me was so nice and they worked hard to make sure I could see their mouths and talk slowly so I could read their lips. They even let me wear my CI’s into the operating room. I wish they let me keep my glasses, they are a lot less expensive to replace if something happened. The surgical nurse was amazing, she put me at ease so fast I immediately trusted her. I knew she’d take care of me and my CI’s and wouldn’t let anything happen to them.

I only had to have light anesthesia, going under general anesthesia is always scary and a lot harder to come out of. Propofol was my friend. I do wonder if I talk while I’m out of it, I sure was talkative when I woke up, I knew I was talking too much but I couldn’t shut up! I know it was the drugs talking; I bet the attending thought I was insane. All in all it was a good experience, I felt well cared for.

My recovery is much easier than I expected. My doctor didn’t really tell me much about what to expect to recover. When Stuart asked him how long my recovery be, he said. “about 20 mins”, obviously he meant that’s how long I’d be in recovery after surgery, but we didn’t really talk about it afterward. So I consulted Dr. Google, and it said that it would take a few weeks for me to get use out of my hand again, some even said I might have a cast. I was prepared to have very little ability to do much of anything with my right hand for 2 – 6 weeks. Boy was Dr Google wrong! I just have a little bandage, and was told to make sure and move my thumb as much as possible. Shocker! I actually have more range of motion than I did before the surgery, but I still have pain in my wrist, it’s just different pain. This pain is from the incision, it’s not sharp and tight like it was; I could actually live with this pain, I wouldn’t want to, but I could. Well it is much more painful when I over do it.

Lorraine was willing and able to keep Mindfulness Monday going in my absence. She is an amazing friend, it blows my mind that we’ve never met in person.

I was able to drive to a friend’s house the day before my surgery. I haven’t been driving again for long, so going about 30 minutes away from home was a big step!

My dog loves me so much! She brings me such joy!

I’m now in my niece and nephew’s life. We’re baby sitting tomorrow night, I’m excited that we will be able to spend quality time with them, just us.

I went to my new PCP for the first time today. She did make me nervous and I’m not 100% sure I’ll keep her as my PCP, but I’m grateful that I finally found one that was excepting new patients so I could get a referral to see a Neuro-otologist, he’s a Meniere’s specialist. I’ll tell more about this visit in an upcoming post.

for my husband, again. He was so wonderful this past week. He took me to my surgery and took the next day off and half a day on Thursday to take care of me. He does take really good care of me.

I have much in my life to be thankful for, like the TToT challenge from Ten Ten Things of Thankful They are a great community and I’m so happy I found them….Thanks Faith. I’d love to hear what you are thankful for this week, tell me about it in the comments, or join in the challenge to post Ten Things of Thankful . (There is not a requirement, or a limit to the amount of things you list. 10 is a goal, if you are having a challenging week and can only post on thing, please share it….and you can share what you are having a hard time with, this community is very supportive.

(please forgive me for not being able to get around and seeing what so many of you have been up to lately, I hope you understand. If you’ve had something happen and you want to make sure I’ve seen it, please share. I never want to miss what is most important to my friends.)